Pages

9 Jun 2016

my hobonichi techo in use on placement

Since my Hobonichi arrived, it has seen plenty of use on placement. Tomoe River paper has been a revelation as a fountain pen user and as tempted as I am to consider ordering another when the 2017 ones are released, these diaries are just a bit too pricey for my liking. I'm glad that I've tried them once though!

Daily and Weekly Planning
One of the most important things my Hobonichi is used for is the planning of my days and weeks. This was invaluable on Paeds when each day was unstructured and I had no set timetable.

Making Notes
The day-per-page view has been used for note-taking during teaching and feedback sessions.

I also write in interesting cases on the days where I've been to handover or ward round. This enables me to look things up if I didn't quite understand or ask questions at a later time.

One thing I also try and do is make a note of all the things a consultant or registrar has said in clinic or of all the cases I saw. It might seem really keen but I've gained so many marks in exams from just drawing on experiences in clinic, on ward round, in theatre, etc.

Blank pages come in really useful for when I need to make notes for future reference. An example is below where I've made a note of the developmental milestones.

The card slots are also really helpful: one holds a card from the Royal Society of Medicine where there are reference ranges for common blood tests and another slot holds some page flags.

Finally, the back pocket holds various sign off sheets such as my log book, paper forms that need signing during my time on placement and my timetable if I was given one.

All in all, the various pockets and slots that come with the Hobonichi cover have come in extremely useful and the Hobonichi Techo itself has been a revelation. The two page markers are also useful - one for the current date and the other for the first blank page that can be used to make notes on or write up a clerking on.

I'm happy with this system and how it is working out but I am questioning if I am prepared to drop such a large amount of cash on another next year. The answer is that it is very unlikely so I'll need to think about what I'll use instead.